"Reach Out"

by Ricardo
(USA)

As I sit in the mall, I contemplate my pending retirement.

I have been off all week trying to "burn off" the mountain of time that I have on the books so that I will not loose it when I finally retire January 31st. As I look around at this hour of the morning, I am viewing seniors that come to the mall to "walk." They appear to be in a "zombie like" state. Is this what the future offers for yours truly? These people appear to be robotic.

There has got to be more than this to retirement.

I think that I may approach one of these individuals and ask them some questions. Did they work their entire lives and have now resorted to this, mall walking? There has to be so much more out there, and I intend to "turn over as many rocks" as possible to find it!

Other younger people that I am observing appear to be "glued" to their electronic equipment, again, "zombie like."

What happened to "eye contact" during a conversation, a smile, a handshake, a joke, interaction?

We need ALL of the above.....especially as we age. Let us not forget that it can be a very long and lonely road in life if we do not reach out to our fellow man.

Say hello, smile, exchange pleasantries, it costs us nothing, and it might brighten someones day, week, or life!

Adieu


Wendy: Ricardo, this is so true! I watch retirees walk at our mall sometimes, Looking down, no smiles, just walking deep in thought (or no thoughts).

When I walk with my own parents, I make sing song noises... everyone looks, they are slightly embarrassed, tho laughing, I yell out YOOO HOOO just to make folks LOOK!!

When someone does smile at me, or chats a bit, I know I made a difference in their day!!

Thanks!!

Comments for "Reach Out"

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I agree completely..
by: Anonymous

Yes, if we don't make eye contact or offer a smile or "Hello how are you?" and really mean it, who are we and what good are we?

We're to love our neighbor as ourselves. I consider each a neighbor .Something to chew on, I think.

Thanks.
Eva
Reaching Out
by: Joe W.

Joseph, Thanks for your comment on this very important issue that now reaches around the World. I agree with you that sedentary jobs often lead to a Zombie outlook.

Whether you have Zombies or big & small business people, or political activists in most cases, I find that Adults 50 Plus around the World could use some help with getting some extra business knowledge to cope with this economic downturn.

Do you have any current programs in India that are structured to help the 50+ Entrepreneur match their own new product and/or service with the marketplace? Also, are you familiar with Mohamed Yunis who is famous for micro-credit financing and micro business training for Adults 50+? He is based in Bangladesh but his ideas have spread out around the World. Please advise. Thanks.

Joe W.
Retirement is not the end of life !
by: Joseph Kainikkara

I don't know how it is in the US or Europe, but in my 'state' of Kerala, India, this kind of zombie look is seen mostly in people who were paid employees and did, may be, sedentary jobs during their entire life.

But there are others like, say, business people (big or small), political and social activists, welfare activists etc. who never retire and who carry on with their lives until they are confined to bed. I belong to this group and never feel any dearth of companionship. Anyone could be company for you as long as that person is a good human being.

A smile coming from the depth of your heart can spread a lot more of brightness than a 1,000 watt electric bulb !

Unknown Seniors
by: Joe W.

Ricardo, Welcome! I really like your observations about the Seniors in our Malls today. In fact, this was one of the motivations that led me to work on my 'Seniorpreneur Project' dedicated to helping Seniors become more active and productive.

I did most of my research work for five years in a local Library in a Mall, which also had seniors mall walking and having discussions over coffee in the Mall's Food Court.

I know what you mean when you see many seniors rather dejected looking with (apparently) not much hope for the future. When I first saw this situation I didn't know what to think.

Then, one day I decided to sit down at one of the tables that had some seniors talking there. I just wanted to test them right away to find out why they aren't out there being more productive.

I addressed one person in particular by challenging him to solve a specific problem that I had for an invention in the food industry.

First of all, he told me he was 92 years old and then proceeded to give me some possible suggestions which were surprisingly good ones. Here, I learned that you should never underestimate a senior who has accumulated so much knowledge and experiences over a long period of time.

Finally, there is one sad note to tell you. One of the seniors (Alex) in this older group coming together to discuss the problems of the World died last week at the age of 86, and his wife (Ruth) is a mall walker, who often encouraged me to write a book. God bless Alex and my prayers go out to Ruth and the children.

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